Chapter 31: The Rebirth of Zhao (2)
【Zhou State】The imperial study in the palace.
"I never expected that in just less than fifteen days, the civil strife had already ended. Ministers headed by Prince Ling Zhao Zixi were all executed, and other people involved in the civil strife were also punished to varying degrees. It can be said that the civil strife has come to a perfect end . The only regret is that Queen Lin died in the civil strife."
Zhou Cheng judged from the news he received about Zhao State, and the ministers under him also whispered about the civil strife in Zhao State...
"I didn't expect that the capital and palace of Zhao State, which is as famous as the capital of our Zhou State, would be captured in just a few dozen days. From the execution of Prince Ling Zhao Zixi and those who participated in the civil strife, it can be seen that King Zhao is really a god with extraordinary intelligence. If Zhao State was not in an extraordinary situation and had not made an alliance with our Zhou State, Zhao State would definitely be a concern for us."
"snort--"
Zhou Cheng ignored the minister's words. Although the minister's words were not wrong, he only saw a small part of the story and gave a high evaluation. If he knew that when Zhao Ziheng and Zhao Zixi were fighting, the Han army took the opportunity to attack the border defended by Zhao Ziheng, and the subsequent invasion of Zhao's border by other countries, it should have revealed some flaws to say that Zhao Ziheng was not focused on the border defense. Unexpectedly, both the Han army and the foreign army fell into the trap that had been designed long ago, and the battle situation was even more one-sided than when Zhao Ziheng was in charge. The situation was under the control of the Zhao army. Outsiders might not be able to see it, but Zhou Cheng clearly felt that all this was planned by Zhao Ziheng. It was all planned by Zhao Ziheng. He used the battle between himself and Zhao Zixi as bait to catch the army that went to aid Zhao Zixi and attack the State of Zhao. Everything was under the control of Zhao Ziheng. Because of this, the armies that invaded the State of Zhao suffered varying degrees of losses. In a short period of time, no force would dare to invade the State of Zhao again. The unbalanced chaos was half-pacified by Zhao Ziheng without anyone noticing. If other people knew the news, they would certainly regard the State of Zhao as a major concern, thus creating unstable factors. However, those states that belonged to the State of Zhao would certainly be more obedient to the State of Zhao. In this way, the State of Zhao would surely become the unshakable number one country in the world in an instant.
"After the civil strife caused by the coup, Zhao must have been hit hard again by the invasion of other countries at the same time. As for the current Zhao, how much can it hold on?"
A seemingly steady minister spoke up.
Zhou Cheng sighed again, because the facts were completely opposite to what he said.
"However, Zhao is currently recovering rapidly under the diligent administration of King Zhao. According to the information we have received, within a month, the capital of Zhao will be restored to its previous state. It does not look like a reaction to a severe blow. Moreover, the border has clearly been severely damaged, but King Zhao does not seem to be ready to return to the border in person—"
Another minister expressed his thoughts. His thoughts were not wrong at all, but it was a pity that he knew too little. If he knew the whole situation, he might be able to come to the same conclusion as Zhou Cheng.
"Your Majesty, should we continue to allow our caravans to enter the State of Zhao?"
This time it was another minister who spoke.
"Zhao has always had commercial relations with our Great Zhou, and they are also vassal states. If you stop the trade of caravans for no reason, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction in Zhao—"
"However, judging from the current situation of Zhao State, if we continue to allow the caravans to enter Zhao State, we may be implicated at any time. Since Zhao State has lost its original power, there is no need for us to take the risk of allowing the caravans to enter, right?"
"How can you say that? Zhao has been in alliance with us for a hundred years. How can you do something like this at a time like this? If you do this, how can my Great Zhou face the world?"
The last sentence came from the mouth of a wise minister. His words caused a slight fluctuation on the face of Zhang Ren, who had been watching silently. The same was true for Zhou Cheng. After all, this minister was one of the ministers he appreciated and favored.
"Master Ji is right—"
When Zhang Ren's voice rang out, all other sounds in the room disappeared, and all attention was focused on him. Even Zhou Cheng was a little surprised. Zhang Ren was only speaking in front of the ministers now. He should have remained silent since the unrest in Zhao State began. Even private conversations with him were very rare. Unexpectedly, he was only now beginning to display his insight from a bystander. Since he rarely spoke, how could the other ministers dare to interrupt?
"Think about it, our Great Zhou and Great Zhao have been allies for a hundred years. Over the past hundred years, we have relied on the agreement reached between our two countries to jointly maintain peace in the world. In recent years, Zhao has been plagued by disasters and has lost its military strength to rival our Great Zhou. However, this cannot be used as a way to break the permanent alliance signed between our Great Zhou and them. Since the unrest in Zhao, they have never asked us for assistance, and have solved it all by their own abilities. Whether it is the coup d'état, the civil unrest, or the war on the border, they seem to be able to handle it with ease. They can't see any signs of heavy damage or that their national strength is not as good as before. Instead, they took advantage of this opportunity to solve the problems of internal and external troubles at the same time. According to the current situation, Zhao will not have any foreign troubles to worry about for at least two years, and there will be no hidden dangers of internal unrest in this generation. The root cause of this disaster has basically been solved. As for who should be credited, I believe everyone knows it—"
Zhang Ren's opinions and analysis were exactly what Prime Minister Zhou had thought, and this was also the ability that Zhang Ren should have, otherwise he would not have become Prime Minister at such a young age. In the past, he might not have exerted his original strength too much, but this time, his performance made many ministers hang their heads and sigh in shame after hearing it. Some ministers had not yet reacted, and some ministers thought that what Zhang Ren said was just a dream talk. How could the turmoil that almost caused the world to fall into chaos be settled so easily in such a short time?
"I have benefited a lot from your insights. I just think that we should not add insult to injury to the State of Zhao. I didn't expect that you could understand the current dynamics of the world. I am really ashamed of myself."
This middle-aged man named Ji Zhongyuan was the Minister of Works in the Zhou Dynasty. He was promoted by Zhang Ren. He admired Zhang Ren very much, and Zhang Ren was also very optimistic about this younger generation whom he promoted.
Every time, Zhang Ren seized the initiative, and due to the gap in strength, Master Jiang hated Zhang Ren to the core, but his strength proved that he was inferior to Zhang Ren. No matter how much he hated Zhang Ren, Zhang Ren could seize all the opportunities to block his way, and every time he would return empty-handed and fail.
The meeting is over.
This time, Zhang Ren was kept by Zhou Cheng. It was not verbal, but Zhang Ren realized that Zhou Cheng seemed to want him to stay, so he did not leave...
"Your Majesty, what do you want to consult me about?"
"…Why is it that the Prime Minister always knows what's on my mind?"
Zhou Cheng always sensed Zhang Ren's worries and comforted him with words. Afterwards, he would always feel relieved and relieved. I'm afraid it would be the same this time?
"Your Majesty is too frank!"
Zhang Ren actually didn't understand Zhou Cheng's thoughts, but he could more or less perceive the expression on his face. In the eyes of outsiders, Zhou Cheng was taciturn and cold-spoken, and generally no one could see the unknown thoughts in his heart, except Zhang Ren. It was unknown when it started, but every time Zhou Cheng needed him, Zhang Ren would always stay, even if he didn't speak or ask him anything. As long as Zhang Ren stayed, Zhou Cheng felt relaxed. This was even more so since Yin Yin survived the disaster and came back, and after everything he had done for Yin Yin. It seemed that Yin Yin's influence on Zhang Ren was enough to affect Zhang Ren's loyalty to Zhou Cheng. For example, now Zhang Ren was bowing to him and helping him solve his problems was even more than before.
